Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was wonderful...I don't think I've eaten so much in such a short amount of time ever before! His grandmothers (they literally live next door to each other, so we split our time between their houses) made dishes especially for me, including a spinach souffle and cauliflower with cheese. All the food was delicious, and I got the recipe for a dessert called "Banana Split Dessert" which was just fabulous. Kevin and I made Rolo cookies (chocolate cookies with Rolo candy pieces baked into them) which were a hit with the family. I also wrote his grandmother a poem which she read to the entire group during Thanksgiving dinner. She started to tear up a bit while everyone laughed. Kevin said that I would be a success if I could make her cry. I think that's an odd way to impress, but apparently it worked :).

I finished my last class on Wednesday around 1:30 and Kev actually beat me to my apartment where he met me around 1:40. I quickly packed up my things and we headed out around 2. By 4:30 we were in Hope, Illinois (Hope is a really tiny town, of maybe 20 people where his grandparents, both sets, live. It's about 30 minutes from Urbana-Champaign, where the University of Illinois's flagship campus is, which itself is about 3 hours south/southwest from Chicago). We briefly met with Grandma James (maternal grandmother at whose house we stayed) then headed next door to Grandma Saullers for dinner. It was entirely vegetarian except for some ham. We chatted with them for a while then went back to James' to bake the cookies. The first of Kev's relatives came in around 1:15 a.m. from Indianapolis. We played gin rummy with his cousin Eric until about 3:30 in the morning. Perhaps not the best idea, since I was woken up by the chatter of more relatives around 7 before finally getting out of bed around 9:15 (after Kev attacked me). More people stopped by and visited and eventually Thanksgiving lunch was ready and served around 12. What a feast! After lunch Kev, his cousins, and I went out to play some croquet. It was fun, and thanks to Kev I managed to finish in second place. We came in to warm up and played some gin rummy. Later, we went out again to play basketball (my fingers were frozen!), then came in for some hot chocolate. Kevin, Eric, and I played the Game of Life which I won by a narrow margin. After that we grabbed some leftovers for dinner. We then headed next door to hang out with Grandma Saullers for a while and played some dice games that Kevin taught us. We tried to get to bed early, but instead stayed up rather late planning our shopping spree with maps and lists and everything. Eric's family had to leave early Friday morning and no one else was ready to go shopping, so it was only Kev and I.

We woke up early to go shopping in Champaign. The plan was to wake up around 3:15 and head out by 3:45, but we accidentally slept in a bit. I suddenly woke up at 4:30, checked my clock, and dashed out of my room to wake Kevin up. We left just after 5 after hurriedly getting dressed and waiting for the car to warm up. The temperature hovered around freezing (getting as low at 18), with wind chill, the entire time we were there. The crowds weren't as bad as we thought they might be, with Circuit City and Target having the longest lines outside. We made off with some great bargains everywhere we went. We both bought thermal underwear which will be very handy in the next couple of weeks. I also got a 50-pack of DVD-Rs for about $15, which is about a 75% discount.

We got back in around 10:30, exhausted but happy. I ate a quick breakfast of metal muffins and yogurt before taking a lovely 3 hour nap. Kev bought a king-size down comforter that he promptly wrapped in a duvet cover (my suggestion, he didn't know he should get one for it) and then took a nap under it. His landlord doesn't understand how to properly heat his building so Kev's room is often 59 degrees when he wakes up in the morning. Can you imagine?! After our naps, we ate some lunch (leftover Thanksgiving food), and then put up a Christmas tree. At 6 we went next door to his other grandma's for dinner and had grilled cheese with tomato soup. We said goodbye to them, then came back over to pack up our stuff and head out. We left around 7:15 and made it back to my place in really good time, just around 9:45. Kev helped me bring all my stuff up and then left for Evanston.

Now I have to get back to work. I've got lots of papers to read and a problem set to work on. All in all it was a wonderful Thanksgiving break, thanks to Kevin and his wonderful (yet admittedly slightly crazy) family!

Recap

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Here's a quick recap of the last couple of weeks:

1. Halloween was rather laid back; we had candy set out but ended up eating most of it (read: all but one piece) since the tenants downstairs took care of all the trick-or-treaters. I saw a guy riding a bike in a chicken suit. No helmet.
2. I shadowed a team of medical residents on their clinical rounds in a pediatric oncology ward. More on that later.
3. Happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak!
4. Took another midterm (genetic analysis) that I didn't finish (I don't think anyone else did either), and handed in another midterm for cancer biology (take home!)
5. Happy birthday Mom!
6. I got a care package from home filled with Indian goodies. I had to fight with the post office to get it though. More on that later.
7. I was sick yet managed to remain almost asymptomatic the whole time. Weird.
8. One of my professors bought me coffee soon after I let him know he missed, for the first time in 15 years, his All-Stars session (a bi-weekly seminar for BioMed students where faculty present their research in hopes of recruiting grad students to their lab).
9. As I held the door for a gentlemen who was leaving the bank as I was entering, he countered my attempt with the line, "Oh no, beauty before age, beauty before age." It made me smile.
10. I baked cookies and made some Indian dishes.
11. I've got real Thanksgiving plans for the first time in years. I'll be heading to Hope, Illinois (near Urbana-Champaign) to spend the weekend with Kevin's family. It's going to be awesome!
12. It's cold. And dark...early. Welcome to Winter in the Windy City!

Sorry Ma, It's in My DNA

In DNA Era, New Worries About Prejudice - New York Times

Today the New York Times published an article about the potentially worrisome implications that new scientific research cataloging the genetic differences between human populations may have. What troubles me, reading the comments of folks interviewed for the article or whose comments on blogs were gleaned as testimony, is how so many people have difficulties "accepting" these genetic findings as real and fraught with implications. Do you "accept" the law of gravity or the explanation for why the sky looks blue? Facts are facts regardless of one's opinion. The genetic differences are real, but the implications not necessarily as dire as predicted.

For instance, one point of contention is the link between genetics and intelligence and how certain populations seem to have different sets of "intelligence sequences/genes" than others. Say for example, genetics clusters A, B, and C seem to correlate with higher than average IQs. People of European descent whose DNA was tested have more of the A and B clusters than people of African descent who have few of the A or B clusters but many of the C clusters. Is this genetic proof that Europeans are inherently/innately smarter than Africans? First, look at the measure of intelligence used: IQ, the intelligence quotient. A person's IQ roughly relates their age to their mental skills, such that if two people, one who is 8 and the other 24, get 35/40 questions right on an IQ test, the 8 year-old is said to have a "higher IQ."

The important things to know are what questions were asked and the educational background of the test takers. If you've ever taken an IQ test, you know the kind of questions you can expect. "Which shape goes next?" "Which word does not belong?" "If this object were folded up, what shape would it look like?" ad nauseum. Are these the only criteria by which society measures intelligence? What about memorization skills? The ability to compute large sums without external aids? How about writing plays or composing operas? Note how none of these skills are tested on most IQ tests (for obvious logistical reasons), yet how often many are used to rate "intelligence" in people.

Whence comes this discrimination opportunity? The idea that, oh my goodness, race exists? That people are fundamentally different genetically (otherwise we'd all be identical clones of one another)? What does a genetic basis for race really change? We simply know the reason behind the fact we've known for ages. Does that change the fact in some fundamental way? Just because I know scientifically why the sky looks blue doesn't change its beauty for me.

If we want to avoid feeding discriminatory minds with genetic ammunition, then we need to make clear what our notions of "equality" are. People are not the same physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. People are not the same genetically. What then does "equal" mean for human beings? The the law should treat everyone the same. But what about people with valid mental illnesses who commit criminal actions when out of control ? Students should be put in classes according to age. But what if they're a prodigy and should be advanced several years? We should have rules and exceptions to each for special cases. If that's true, are we really being equal?

So many traits, like intelligence or outgoingness, are both genetic and environmental in nature. You could have all the "right" genes for intelligence, but if those abilities are not nurtured or supported, or if development is hampered by physical or emotional considerations, then a person who is "born smart" may very well score poorly on an IQ test or be considered average or even dumb by society. Conversely, a person "born with average intelligence" who grows up in a household where learning is nurtured and encouraged could become very bright and score brilliantly on such tests.

It's true that many traits are mostly genetic, such as skin or eye color (along with some diseases), and in those cases environment has little affect. That these "facts of life" are ever the basis for discrimination I find simply ridiculous. A person literally had no choice what skin color they were born with. To a large extent they can choose their behavior and what to make of the opportunities (no matter how few or many) open to them. People should be judged for things they have control over, and the more control the better.

In the end, it is our choices that we have control over, not our genetic inheritance, that truly make us who we are and how we interact with our society.